Nearly 70 firefighters from Cecil and Harford counties were called shortly before 8 p.m. to a two-alarm fire at Jon's Exotic Pets Shop at 10 S. Queen St. in Rising Sun.

Firefighters said the flames were contained to the first-floor pet shop, with moderate smoke damage extending to two adjacent businesses and two occupied second-floor apartments. Six people in those apartments got out safely, officials said.

It took crews about an hour to get the fire under control.

Fire officials haven’t confirmed it, but the owner of the building, Jon Belew Sr., told 11 News that the fire was electrical in nature.

"There's smoke damage in two of the businesses, and the other, which is the pet store, it has got a lot of damage to it," Belew Sr. said.

Officials said an undetermined number of pets died in the fire, including dogs, cats, lizards, birds, turtles and rodents. The owner of the pet shop, Jon Belew Jr., said they were only able to rescue a few of the many animals.

"It was a terrible evening -- broke my heart. I still can barely bring myself to talk about it," Jon Belew Jr. said. "We tried to do a rescue. We did rescue a few animals, but it was pretty much a total loss. (It's) very devastating to my family."

"They got seven live animals out of there last night. That's it. John tried to come in the back door and get the puppies out, but the smoke was thick and he had to get out of the store before it overcame him," said Synthia Bare, a neighbor. "It's awful. This is the worst I've ever seen."

"It breaks my heart, it certainly does because I'm an animal lover," said Barbara Broomell, a nearby resident.

The people who were displaced are being helped by the Red Cross.

The Fire Marshal's Office said damage estimates were about $750,000. The owners said they will rebuild and open for business again.

WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Rob Roblin contributed to this report.

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